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My Summer Reading Diet; Less Processed Fare

This summer portends to be a turning point in my life. I may actually for the first time in years, be able to visit a pool with both my children and read without interruption for five to ten minutes a stretch. Who knows, maybe even more? Whoohoo! Now for those of you with little kids, you’ll understand my unadulterated excitement at neither having to get into the water when I’d rather be reading a book, nor having to keep my eyes peeled on the water when I’d rather be reading a book.

And as we all know, reading is a cornerstone to writing.

I believe that the books we writers choose to devour will inherently affect the bodies of our work. In essence, we are what we eat. What we read will impact our writing style. Therefore, this summer I best think carefully about which books make for good sustenance.

These days there are two camps of successful books out there. In one camp you have the books grounded in well-written prose. In the other, you have the books that are written poorly but manage to have that secret sauce which propels them to the top of the New York Times bestsellers list. Series like Twilight or 50 Shades of Grey are written abysmally. The fact that their authors are laughing all the way to the bank is proof positive that we’ve become a junk food nation in more ways than one. With that said, I admit I’ve read them and even liked them (more or less.) Yet, all the while I’ve wondered what is it about this formulaic dribble that entices us so? While I’ve gotten caught up in these books, inevitably after finishing them I’ve felt similar to having eaten a Big Mac – guilty.

Would I like to have a runaway best-seller like these? Hell yeah, but I’d much rather write beautiful prose that takes a person’s breath away. That’s just me though. To this end, as I look towards my summertime book diet, I must give thought to what will help me become a stronger, fitter writer. I must ferret out the super foods from the vast shelves of empty calories.

I regularly keep an online list of books “I plan to read” with the help of Amazon’s software tool Shelfari. From this list I’ve culled the top ten books I’d like to fill-up on this summer. Provided I don’t get too many “Mommy, Mommy look at me” pool-side requests, I should be able to chow down on more than a few. Here’s my list:

The Book of Joe, Jonathan Tropper – I laughed out loud (this hardly ever happens) while reading his book “This is Where I Leave You,” and a friend tells me this one is also hilarious.

Laugh with the Moon, Shana Burg – She wrote such a beautiful debut YA novel, “A Thousand Never Evers.” Her second novel arrives in bookstores on June 12th.

Zeitoun, Dave Eggers I just finished reading “What is The What” and can’t wait to read more by him. He knows how to write about tragedy without making you want to slit your wrists.

Isaac’s Storm, Erik Larson – An opportunity to eat local. Larson is one of Seattle’s best known authors plus he’s mastered the art of writing non-fiction like fiction.

Mudbound, Hillary Jordan – A friend whose tastes I like has told me this is one of her most recent favorites, and I like the cover. Very scientific selection process, I know. I often choose wine in a similar fashion.

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About Susan Szafir

Susan Szafir is the co-author of the not particularly sexy but very helpful healthcare trade book “Dialysis without Fear.” She is also the winner of a 2011 Pacific Northwest Literary Award for her creative non-fiction short “Bohemia.” Szafir earned Fiction and Non-Fiction Certificates from the University of Washington’s Extension Program. Just off the heels of a decade of childrearing and career switching, Szafir is now embarking on what she hopes will be a decade of breakout writing. Follow Susan on Twitter @soswrites, and check out her blog posts at www.popcorntheblog.com

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11 thoughts on “My Summer Reading Diet; Less Processed Fare”

Hey Susan – spending time reading by the pool sounds heavenly, despite splashy interruptions! I just read Swamplandia! by Karen Russell which was astonishing and am currently wrapped up in Ordinary Wolves by Seth Kantner. Very different voices, settings and temperatures but both worth a read.

I second Swamplandia! The most mind-bending, amazing book I read this year–or maybe it was last year–was Room by Emma Donoghue. I recommend it with a grain of salt, though, because it haunted me for weeks, months, maybe even this entire past year. Great list; thanks for the recommendations and here’s to summer reading!

I’m going to be plowing through a pile of young adult books this summer. And telling myself it is not junk food for me since I’ll be using them in a classroom. (Just like M&Ms are math manipulatives.) I just finished one that was amazing: Un Lun Dun by China Mieville. Thanks for sharing your list–maybe I’ll be ready for some grown-up reading by August…